LOOKING AHEAD
Pitt (2-0) vs. Toledo (2-1), 7 p.m. Saturday, Glass Bowl, Toledo, Ohio. No TV. Radio: WRRK-FM (96.9) and the Panthers Radio Network. The Panthers will be the highest ranked opponent to play in the Glass Bowl.
NOTEBOOK
Southmoreland graduate Rob Frederick got his first career start at center for the Panthers. He was a late addition to the starting lineup because starting C Justin Belarski has a lingering problem with stress fracture in his left foot. Frederick, a 6-foot-3, 295-pound senior, is a Tulsa transfer. He missed much of camp with a foot fracture but returned to practice this week. He wasn't expected to go full speed yet, but his status was upgraded Wednesday when Belarski's condition became known. Belarski is questionable next week at Toledo but Frederick said he feels good.
The Panthers came out of the game without many injuries and none appeared to be major. Starting LG Dan LaCarte tweaked his ankle early in the game and was replaced for several series by Matt Maiers. LB Clint Session also tweaked his ankle and WR Chris Curd was getting his shoulder evaluated. All three returned to action.
Pitt is 21-0 against Mid-American Conference teams and have a chance to go to 22-0 next week when they travel to Toledo. This was the first meeting between Pitt and Ball State. Pitt is 17-4 in its previous 21 games. That is the Panthers' best 21-game stretch since they won 17 of 21 games between Oct. 10, 1980 and Jan. 1, 1983.
Freshman LB Clint Session continued to make his presence felt. He entered the game at middle LB in the second quarter and had one of his high-impact tackles on the first play from scrimmage. The next play, he had a QB sack. He also laid out Ball State kick-returner Dante Ridgeway after Pitt's fifth touchdown. He finished with three solo tackles, an assist and a sack.
Freshman P Adam Graessle handled the kickoffs for the second consecutive game. He kicked off seven times and five were touchbacks. The kicks that were returned were held inside the 20. "We talked about the '[Larry] Fitzgerald factor' this week, now we also have the Graessle factor," Pitt coach Walt Harris said, "That's huge. We've never had that. That's a great weapon for us."
Speaking of the "Fitzgerald factor" -- a term Harris used Monday at his weekly news conference to describe what sophomore WR Fitzgerald's presence on the field does to defenses -- it was never more apparent than yesterday on Brandon Miree's 7-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter. Miree ran left, got outside and waltzed into the end zone. The reason it was so open -- three Ball State defenders on that side were chasing Fitzgerald and trying to position themselves to defend the fade.
Pitt QB Rod Rutherford finished the game with 4,400 total yards for his career to become the seventh Pitt player to reach the 4,000-yard plateau. He has the seventh-highest total in Pitt history and needs only 6 yards to move ahead of David Priestley into sixth place. He also has 3,618 career passing yards, good enough for 11th place on Pitt's all-time passing list. If he were to pass for 166 yards next week, he would surpass four players into seventh place, one spot ahead of John Turman and one spot behind Rick Trocano.
This is the first time since 1988 that Pitt has scored more than 40 points in consecutive games (the Panthers beat Kent State last week, 43-3). The Panthers beat Temple, 42-7, Oct. 15, 1988, and the next week beat Navy, 52-6. Pitt hasn't scored 40 or more points in three consecutive games since 1980, when they beat Syracuse (43-6), Louisville (41-23) and Army (45-7) in successive weeks from Nov. 1 to Nov. 15.
Ball State has yet to beat a team from one of the six major conferences. The Cardinals have been outscored, 393-89, in their previous 10 games against such teams. But the 21 points represents the Cardinals' best output against a major-conference team since Sept. 14, 1996, when they lost to Minnesota, 26-23.
Cardinals coach Brady Hoke is one of 18 coaches in Division I-A who is the head coach at his alma mater. Hoke led the Cardinals and ranked sixth in the MAC with 150 tackles his senior season (1981-82) and earned All-MAC second-team honors as a defensive lineman.
The attendance was 44,117.
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